Why did the English name so many North American cities after Indian names?

The early explorers found the existing names to be more useful and easily identifiable than new names they'd have had to assign to them. Place names were often the names of tribes occupying the areas at the time the first explorers arrived, so in naming a place on a map they also frequently identified the location of the people who lived there.

It has to do with practicality. You don't change the name of a place, if it's already well-known by a different name, prior to conquest.

For example, take the city of Toronto (near Buffalo) in Canada. Before Europeans actually settled in the area, they would go on annual trips to this well-known place to trade furs. By the time European settlers actually settled there, the name would have been so well-known, it would have only confused people to change it.

ANOTHER reason has to do with Social Darwinism. Before ideas of Social Darwinism took hold, in the middle of the 19th century, Europeans had far more respect for Native American culture.

Even the word "savage" meant something different; someone who lived in the wilderness, without the negative connotation. Most explorers generally admired the cultures they encountered; eg., Pizzaro described the Incan empire as a kind of utopia. The concept of "noble savage" was dominant. (The only problem with Native culture then was that they needed to be Christianized, or they were all destined for Hades; but that was another matter.)...So in short, until the 19th century, Europeans admired Native culture (but not Natives); so were disinclined to change place-names.

I don't know for sure, but it likely started with the first European settlers to live in the area. Unless they were particularly arrogant, they wouldn't have a problem with referring to the area by the name the local Indians already used. So, by the time the settlement turned into a town, the Indian name would also be the European name, and there's really no sense in changing it just to make it sound more English.

i didnt think some of the cities were idian i know that new york and boston, York is a city in the UK its jus got new in front of it and boston is a town in lincolnshire in the UK

many of the towns and cities in the US are named after the places the settlers came from, especially on the east coast

such as

new york

new jersey

boston

new england

massachusetts

alabama

california

They generally used anglicized variants of Indian names for places, just as they would if they went to some place in Europe whuich spoke a different language or to Africa or India.

Like New York, Philadelphia, and Boston?

The places were already called that, so the settlers called them that, too. Like Chicago, Niagra, Illinois, or Ohio.

Historic value, not sure? Good question. :)

New York was named after the Duke of York in England. :]

maybe because it was maybe put in their books as the name or they maybe wanted to keep the lands heritage??